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OF THE 



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RELATED BY 



COLONEL QARNETT, 



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OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY. 



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J. M. HILL. 



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I'ress of Eagle Book Printing Dep't. Brooklyn, N. Y. 



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GETTYSBURG. 

A COMPLETE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF 

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, AND 

THE CAMPAIGN PRECEDING IT, 



BY 



JOHN J. QARNETT, 

COLONEL OF AETILLEET, 0. S. A. 



PUBLISHED FOR HIS PATRONS 
BY 

J. M. HILL, 

MANAGER OF THE CYCLORAMA OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 
NEW YORK, i8S8. 



Copyright, i8SS. 

BY 

J. M. Hill. 



bl503 , 



PRESS OF BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE 



PREFACE. 



THE account of the battle of Gettysburg, as set forth in these 
pages, is, so far as human knowledge can determine, absolutely 
correct. The writer, while an active i)articipant in the great strug- 
gle during the three days of its continuance, does not lay claim to 
Jiaving been actively identified with all the movements herein re- 
corded. He cheerfully acknowledges his indebtedness to several 
eminent historians of the battle from both North and South, whose 
facts he has blended with his own experiences and observations into 
a complete and unprejudiced narrative. He takes especial ])ride in 
saying that his mind was, in writing this little history, entirely 
divested of any sectional feeling, and that his main purpose has been 
to do equal credit and reflect equal honor on the gallant men of both 
armies who faced each other in deadly strife on this memorable field. 
\\'ith his countrymen of the South he cheerfully accepts the verdict 
on the justice of their cause which they submitted to the adjudica- 
tion of the sword, and he sincerely trusts that the developments of 
time will never again create the necessity for the men of either sec- 
tion of the United States to be found fighting under any flag other 
than the emblem which is now the symbol of our happily united 
country. 

JOHN J. GARNETT, 

ColoucI of Artillery, C. S. A, 



Gettysburg. 



GETtYSBaRG. 



Lee's Hopes and Plans. 

ON a fair morning in July, in the Summer of 1863, the quiet 
old-fashioned Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg became the 
■scene of the mightiest struggle known to warfare. In and around its 
sleepy suburbs the citizen soldiery of a then disunited but now happily 
re-united Union, for three days shed immortal glory on American 
valor in a series of battles, the most fiercely contested of any known 
to the history of the world. That the reader may intelligently appre- 
ciate the chain of circumstances which led up to the battle of Ge 
tysburg, I herewith append a recapitulation of the events wh' ,n 
preceded it, having myself been an active participant in them as a 
soldier in the army of Northern Virginia. 

Shortly after the battle of Chancellorsville, which resulted in the 
necessary withdrawal of the Federal forces to their former position 
on the left bank of the Rappahannock River, Gen. Lee of the 
Confederate Army determined that his opportunity had come to in- 
vade Maryland and Pennsylvania. He seems to have been in- 
duced to enter upon this perilous undertaking by several military 
considerations of an important character. First, he felt the in- 
creasing deficiency of cavalry and artillery horses, and of the 
means of subsistence for his army in an almost desolate territory 
from which he had hitherto drawn his supplies. Secondly, he had 
been led by unmistakable signs to believe that the morale of Gen. 
Hooker's army had been destroyed by that battle, and, like the skill- 
ful military commander he was, to incline to the idea that that of his 
army had been correspondingly increased. Thirdly, there was the 
evident fact of the depletion of the Union army by the return to 
their homes of a number of regiments whose term of service had 
-expired ; and finally there was an apparent division of sentiment in 



6 Gettysburg. 



the loyal States in regard to the conduct and continuance of the 
rebellion, engendered by an intense partisan feeling and desire for 
office. Of this division of sentiment, about which there was no 
doubt in his mind, Gen. Lee now determined to take advantage. 
For some time it uncjuestionably did appear as if his cherished hopes 
of a successful invasion would be realized, for, when he was about 
to cross the Potomac, evidently endeavoring to feel his way, such 
was the apparent apathy that prevailed among the peo])le who were 
most in danger, that it seemed impossible to arouse them to their 
true situation, and to organize them in the defence of their homes. 

Confederate Plans and Preparations. 

Having determined upon a Maryland and Pennsylvania campaign, 
Lee began to arrange and perfect his plans, and to remodel and 
strengthen his army ; and when his preparations were completed he 
found himself at the head of one of the best disciplined and most 
reliable armies the world ever saw. Imaginative historians have re- 
corded the opinion that the Confederate troops under Lee were in a 
sadly demoralized state at the opening of this memorable campaign ; 
but such fallacies need no better refutation than that furnished by- 
Lee's army in action at Gettysburg. 

Of course, so capable a commander as Gen. Joseph Hooker of 
the opposing forces could not be wholly blind to the unmistakable 
signs of the storm which had begun to lower about the Army of the 
Potomac. Hoping to forestall in a measure Lee's intentions (having 
been informed that an advance was about to be ordered), he directed 
that a cavalry attack should be made by Gen Alfred Pleasanton 
against Gen. J. E. B. Stuart at Beverly Ford. This attack, which 
was made on June 9, resulted advantageously to the Federal arms, 
and especially so in the capture of Stuart's private papers, among, 
which were found orders for an immediate advance into Pennsyl- 
vania. This was one of the most import occurrences of the pro- 
posed invasion, and it doubtless had an important bearing on the 
results of the three battles on this famous field. I have personal 
reasons for knowing that Gen. Lee deeply regretted the capture of 
Stuart's papers. He was scrupulously mindful of military detail^ 
and what to the average mind was a small thing in the affairs of an 



Gettysburg. 7 



army was weighed with him to a nicety in its bearing on general re- 
sults. The loss of those papers was a most unfortunate event for 
the Confederate army, since it enabled Hooker to put his army im- 
mediately in motion, so as to prevent Lee, who had already several 
days' start, from flanking him and coming in between him and 
Washington and Baltimore. By hard marches the Union Army ad- 
vanced so rapidly as always to be on the flanks of Lee and to prevent 
him eventually from carrying out his purposes. 

Federal Plans and Preparations. 

Forewarned of the approach of the invading army, the War De- 
partment at Washington on June ii, assigned Major-Gen. D. N. 
Couch to the Department of the Susquehanna, with his headquarters 
at Harrisburg, and Major-Gen. W. T. H. Brooks to the Department 
of the Monongahela, with his headquarters at Pittsburgh. On the 
next day were issued a proclamation of Gov. Curtin and a call of 
Gen. Couch addressed to the people of Pennsylvania, urging them 
to organize and hasten to the defence of the State. 

On June 13 the Confederates reached Winchester, Ya., and gave 
battle to Gen. Milroy, who occupied that post with a force of 
8,000 or 9, coo men. On that day the Confederates suffered a slight 
defeat, but on the next renewed the attack, which resulted in 
the hasty flight of Milroy and his whole command. He lost nearly 
all of his ammunition and artillery, and a small portion of his men. 
He succeeded with difiiculty in taking several hundred with him to 
Harper^s Ferry, and in running his baggage train, by Hagerstown 
and Chambersburg, to Harrisburg. About 2,000 infantry stragglers 
and cavalry succeeded in breaking through and effecting their escape 
to Bloody Run, Pa., where they were reorganized and joined by 
recruits from the Pennsylvania militia. 

The Confederate cavalry, 1,600 in number, under Gen. Jenkins, 
entered Hagerstown on June 15 at lo-^- A. M., in pursuit of Milroy's 
wagon train, and,' moving onward rapidly, they reached Chambers- 
burg at 10^ P. M. Having thus advanced far into an enemy's 
country without a support sufficiently near, they deemed it prudent 
to make a retrograde movement. They therefore evacuated Cham- 



Gettysburg. 



bersburg on June 17. As they had already gathered a large number 
of horses and cattle, it was supposed by many of the Pennsylvania 
peoj)le, as well as the military officials, that they intended to with- 
draw across the Potomac. Quite the contrary was their inten- 
tion. They retired only to the vicinity of Hagerstown, there to 
await the arrival of Lee's army. 



Alarm in Gettysburg. 

On the morning of this day an officer of the Union Army visited 
Gettysburg, and addressed the people in public meeting on the 
necessity of taking immediate steps for their defence and protection. 
He strongly urged every male citizen, irrespective of age, to make 
preparations for meeting the foe that had come ui)on their soil. His 
appeal served to awaken the people to a sense of their danger, and 
this, coupled with Gov. Curtin's proclamation, determined them to 
arm at once and be ready, at a moment's warning, for the defence 
of their homes and of the State. John Burns, the old hero of the 
town, who has passed into the historical recollections of the battle 
of Gettysburg, was among those present, and joined his appeal with 
those of the officer to stir up his fellow-townsmen to action. On 
June 19 a beginning was made in the formation of a cavalry com- 
pany, under Capt. Bell, and there was some reconnoitring by scouts 
from the company and a few of the citizens of the town. An effort 
to form an infantry company and to arouse the people generally did 
not prove wholly successful. Many of the people of Gettysburg who 
took a negative part in the stirring proceedings of those days attrib- 
ute this failure not so much to an unwillingness to engage in the 
efforts to resist the progress of the Confederates as to a reluctance 
to desert their homes and their families. To their credit, be it said, 
that they were gifted witli more prescience than the military authori- 
ties at Harrisburg, who, losing sight of the j)articulars and looking 
to the good of the whole, intended, in the beginning at least, to make 
the Susquehanna the base of defence against the invaders, while for 
the border towns and country no adequate protection could be pro- 
vided. I have reason to know from personal knowledge that Gettys- 
burg became the scene of the great battle only through one of those 



Gettysburg. 9 



unforeseen military exigencies liable to arise unexpectedly in the 
prearranged plans of the commanding General of a campaign. 

An Accidental Battle. 

In fact, I believe it was never Gen. Lee's intention to fight a great 
battle so far from his base, and that he was drawn into it by the want 
of information of the enemy^s whereabouts. It is well known that 
Gen. Stuart was not with or near Gen. Lee after the army crossed 
the Potomac, and that owing to this fact the commander of the Con- 
federate army was poorly, if at all, informed of the movements of 
the Federal army. That Lee did not intend to fight at Gettysburg is 
more fully shown by the disposition of his corps d'armee, Longstreet 
being away off at Chambersburg, Ewell with his divisions scattered 
from York to Carlisle, and only the corps of A. P. Hill in the vicinity 
of what became the greatest battle-field of the world. 

For the seeming neglect of the military authorities at Harrisburg 
to provide protection to certain portions of the State which they 
assumed were not in danger, there were not wanting some who 
roundly abused the Government. And then other considerations 
had great weight with the Gettysburgers. Some were unwilling, from 
political motives, to tender their services or to suffer their friends to 
go into organizations for military defence which might seem to be 
a support of the then Administration, or which might, perhaps, cause 
their absence from the polls at the time of the fall election. Some 
who were brave and patriotic in words could not screw their courage 
to the sticking point of exposing themselves to the hardships of camp 
life and the perils of the battle-field. However, on the Wednesday 
preceding, June 17, a company of infantry, consisting of sixty 
students of Pennsylvania College, together with several from the 
Theological Seminary and a few citizens under the command of a 
young theological student named Klinefelter, left for Harrisburg in 
obedience to the urgent call of the Governor, and were the first to 
be mustered into the service for the emergency. As a matter of 
fact, well understood by the people of Gettysburg and the surround- 
ing country, previous to this date very little progress had been made 
in the preparations needful for the defence even of the capital of the 
State. A beginning had indeed been made as early as June 15, in 



10 Gf.ttysburg. 



the construction of breastworks and the digging of rifle pits aloni; 
the river front and on the oj^posite bank ; but the work went on 
slowly, and it is questionable, when the Confederates approached 
nearest the river on June 28, whether Harrisburg might not have 
been easily taken. The Confederate officers who led the advance 
learned too late for practical action how pregnable the place really 
was. Their failure to invest the city of Harrisburg, with a view to 
its capture, must, for obvious reasons, become one of the conun- 
drums of history. Despite their danger, it was difficult to stir up the 
people ; for although many companies and regiments, among which 
were several from New York and New Jersey, reported at the seat of 
Government, it was not until the Confederates were almost at its 
doors, and three days before the battle of Gettysburg was begun, 
that the people began to realize the magnitude of their danger, and 
Philadelphia, which was a most tempting bait for the Confederates, 
began to pour forth her men and treasures in abundance. 

Early on the morning of June 21, the Philadelphia City Troop, 
consisting of about forty members, arrived at Gettysburg. The day 
was Sunday. As the soldiers, in all the pomp and circumstance of 
war, entered the town the lazy-going inhabitants coming from church 
opened their eyes in wonderment, and for the first time awoke to 
the fact that they had not been entirely overlooked in their danger. 
The Philadelphia troopers immediately received a taste of active 
soldiering. Together with Bell's cavalry and some citizens of Gettys- 
burg, they made a reconnoisance in the South Mountains as far as 
Monterey. Here they encountered Confederate pickets, with whom 
they exchanged some shots. At 6 P. M. about 120 Confederate 
cavalry of the advance force of the Army of Northern Virginia 
entered Fairfield on a gallop, and retired again at 7 P. M. on the 
Furnace road, taking with them all the good horses they could find. 
On the following day EwelTs corps crossed the Potomac, one portion 
at Shepherdslown, the other at Williamsport. They united at 
Hagerstown, whence they again diverged in their jjrogress up the 
Cumberland Valley toward Chambersburg. 

To understand the present situation of the opposing forces, a 
slight digression is necessary. The Pennsylvania and New York 
militia as they reached Harrisburg had been, as soon as practicable, 



Gettysburg. ^^ 



, organized by Gen. Couch in two divisions, one under Gen. Smith, 
|:he other under Gen. Dana. On Saturday, June 20, previous to 
^Gen. Smith being put in command, Gen. Knipe was sent up the val- 
aey from Harrisburg with two New York regiments first to reconstruct 
the railroad bridge at Scotland, which the Confederates hadde- 
istroyed, and then to occupy and defend Chambersburg. Having, 
however, been apprised of the' approach of Rhodes' division of 
E well's corps, and being unprepared to meet the large force of the 
Confederates which would soon be precipitated upon him, he deemed 
it advisable late in the evening of this day to evacuate the town, and 
gradually to move down the valley again. During the forenoon of 
Tuesday, June 23, Gen. Rhodes' division entered and occupied 
Chambersburg. On this and the previous day various reconnois- 
rsances were made from Gettysburg by Bell's cavalry and the Phila- 
delphia City Troop, the former having now assumed an organized 
-form. The movements of these bodies amounted to very little out- 
.side of a few shots exchanged with the Confederate pickets. On 
the evening of June 24, the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, 
numbering 735 men, arrived at Gettysburg, having been sent from 
Harrisburg for the purpose of holding the Confederates in check, 
but as the cars in which they were coming were thrown from the 
track within six miles of the village, they encamped and remained 
there until Friday morning. 

Slowly, but surely, the Confederate forces were closing in on the 
devoted town. A. P. Hill's corps crossed the Potomac on the morn- 
ing of the 24th at a point one mile above Shepherdstown, Ander- 
son's division being in the advance. Late in the evening of the 
next day 100 picked men from the Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania were 
ordered from their temporary camping ground, with the design of 
sending them to the South Mountain as sharpshooters or bushwhack- 
ers, in order to cut off the Confederate pickets, who, according to 
information which had been received, extended down the south- 
eastern flanks of the mountain, and were making gradual approaches 
towards Gettysburg ; but the heavy rain of that night caused the 
Pennsylvanians to be detained until the rest of their regiment arrived, 
and thus they were saved from almost certain capture or destruc- 
tion. While this was going on the Confederates under Rhodes ad- 
vanced as far as Shippenburg on their way to Harrisburg. 



12 Gettysburg. 



Early on the morning of June 26 the Gettysburgers were awakened 
from their troubled slumbers by the beating of drums, which signal- 
ized the arrival of the Twenty-sixth Regiment from its temporary 
encampment six miles away. Contrary to the remonstrances of Jen- 
nings, the Colonel, who regarded a six-mile tramp sufficient for one 
day's work, the regiment was sent forward at 10:30 A. M. on the 
Chambersburg turnpike. This was a suicidal movement, as events 
afterward proved. About three miles westward from the village the 
small band encamped and threw out their pickets, forty in number. 

They were on duty but a short time when they were all captured 
and taken into the Confederate camp. Col. Jennings, who had on 
several occasions shown himself to be an officer as skillful as he was 
cool and brave, seeing the trap into which he had been led, imme- 
diately upon sight of the Confederates divided his regiment into 
three squads, in order to deceive them with the appearance of a 
large body of infantry. The deception proved so far successful that 
the Confederates did not press them, fearing that a direct attack 
might prove more serious than a mere skirmish; Jennings' band, elated 
over the success of their first attempt at military strategy, lost no time 
in retreating eastward over the fields and by country roads, occa- 
sionally skirmishing with the Confederate cavalry, which had been 
sent in pursuit of them, and after losing 120 more of their number 
near Hunterstovvn and zigzagging very frequently, being often in 
hearing distance of their relentless pursuers, they reached Harris- 
burg on Sunday, June 28, having marched fifty-four out of sixty 
continuous hours. 

Matters were now beginning to assume a serious aspect for the 
people of Gettysburg. They had fully awakened to a realization of 
the fact that trouble was brewing for them in large quantities, and 
when 200 Confederate cavalry men rushed into the village on mettled 
horses, shouting and yelling like so many imps let loose from pande- 
monium, they were almost petrified into a state of absolute helpless- 
ness. 

This advance party was soon followed by a force of infantry, be- 
ing Gen. Gordon's brigade of Early's division of Ewell's corps. 
Gen. Early, who accompanied this brigade, was not at all bashful in 
demanding of the people that his warriors be well cared for, his 



13 

Gettysburg. 



nodest request being that they be provided with r,.oo pounds o 
r/a 600 pounds of coffee, sixty barrels of flour, 1,000 pounds o 
:: t ; 00° pounds of bacon, ten barrels of whiskey, ten barre of 
:l:i .oL pairs of -es, andsoo^h^ ^ rr^d^^ 

; lage did not so regard it. They looked upon .t as the qumt - 
I encfof extortion, and, summoning two of the.r most hardy towns- 
men they commisioned them to inform Gen Early that tt was tm- 
nossib e to co„.ply with his demands, first, because the goods were 
'ot n 1-townov w.thin reach ; second, because the borough had 
"funds and, third-most weighty consideration of all-because 
the Cou;cil had no authority to borrow either tn the name of 
he borough or county. In conclusion the Commissioners satd. 
''L e your humble supplicants are at the mercy of yourself 
Generir nd your men, we grant you the prtvlege to search and 
take f Tom ci.i^Ins and the empty stores whatsoever you may be ab e 
to find o" t," whtch was, to say the least, exceedingly generous under 
the circumstances. 

General Lee's Opposition to Foraging. 

We who had commands exerted ourselves d.hgent y m trymg to 



14 Gettysburg. 



back I noticed that one of my batteries of artillery had become dis- 
organized. Looking into a large field which surrounded an old 
stone mansion, I saw a number of my men making a lively detour 
about the houses in pursuit of several fine porkers, turkeys and 
other fowl that had but a short time before been enjoying themselves 
in undisturbed peacefulness. Calling my Adjutant, I ordered him 
to have the men brought into the ranks at once and to compel them 
to quit their plundering. Hungry men do not take kindly to dis- 
cipline, and my Adjutant succeeded poorly in the errand on which 
I despatched him. 

A Farmer's Faith in Lincoln. 

*' Here's a fine fat turkey for supper," cried a lusty young 
Virginian, as he rushed across the field, swinging the captive bird 
by its leg. 

"And here's a nice young pig for your breakfast. Colonel," sang 
out a comrade close behind him. 

Human nature, I confess, was sorely tempted on that occasion. 
While these depredations were going on the venerable old Dunker 
who owned the mansion and its surroundings calmly sat on the 
porch and watched his despoilment in the most philosophical man- 
ner. Anxious to make amends, so far as my own conscience was 
concerned, I leaped the fence with my horse and rode up to where 
the old Dunker was sitting. 

"At what do you value your loss ?" I asked. 

" It is of no account," he answered. ''The Town Council has 
given you permission to take all you find, and if they don't pay me, 
Abe Lincoln will. Don't trouble yourself, sir." 

This philosophical view of the matter seemed to be shared by all 
the residents of the town of Gettysburg on the arrival of the Con- 
federates, and it proved very agreeable to the tired and Inmgry 
throng which had arrived among them. 

Closing on Gettysburg. 

On Sunday, the 28th, two regiments of Federal cavalry, number- 
ing about 2,000 men, under command of Gen. Copeland, came to- 
ward Gettysburg from the direction of Emmittsburg, and went into 



Gettysburg. 15 



:amp east of the town until the next morning, when they all left 
md moved toward Littlestown. They had been sent forward on a 
•econnoissance. On this day Gen. Early entered and occupied 
V^ork. Gen. Longstreet's corps, having crossed the Potomac at 
Williamsport and followed those of Ewell and Hill, reached Fay- 
^tteville on this day. It was now evident to all that General Lee's 
intention was to concentrate his army on the turnpike road leading 
through Gettysburg to Baltimore. At the same time, also, the 
Union army was gradually extending itself toward the village. 
This, then, was the focus toward which all these hostile rays tended, 
and at which they at length all concentrated. But the time had not 
yet come for action. A few more moves had to be made in the 
great game of preparation which both commanders were playing. 
During the day Hill threw a large portion of his corps, Heth^s divi- 
sion, over the South Mountain. At 9:30 on the following morning. 
Gen. Hill, with a portion of his corps, advanced on the Chambers- 
burg turnpike as far as the crest of Seminary Hill, half a mile north- 
west of Gettysburg, throwing about two dozen pickets as far down 
as a house, on the outskirts of the village, owned at that time by a 
man named Shead. Several officers of the Confederate army spent 
some time in reconnoitring at this point with their field glasses, and 
engaging in conversation with people residing near the road, from 
whom undoubtedly they elicited much valuable information. After 
a reconnoissance lasting an hour they retired toward Cashtown. 
At 11:30 A. M. 6,000 Federal cavalry, under Gen. Buford, arrived 
in Gettysburg, passing through Washington street on the way to the 
Chambersburg turnpike, and by it one mile and a half northwest- 
ward as far as the Hon. E. McPherson's farm, where they en- 
camped and placed their artillery in position. 

In Martial Array. 
During tn^ '"^ernoon the First Corps of Infantry, under com- 
mand of Gen. John F. Reynolds, came from Emmittsburg to the 
right bank of Marsh's Creek, six and a half miles southwest of 
Gettysburg, and encamped there for the night, while the Eleventh 
and Third zArmy Corps remained at Emmittsburg. By order of 
Gen. Lee, Hill's corps, consisting of three divisions in this order — 



10 Gettysburg. 



Gen. Heth, Gen. Pender, Gen. Anderson — was moved to the 
vicinity of Marsh's Creek. On this day Longstreet's corps followed 
first McLaw's division, then Hood's division, while Pickett's division 
was delayed at Chambersburg to protect the rear and the wagon 
trains. There were also two divisions of Ewell's corps, viz : Rhodes' 
and Early's, the former numbering 8,000 men and the latter about 
9,000, while the third, Johnston's (10,000), had been delayed at 
Fayetteville. Thus were encamped on that momentous night of 
June 30, within a short distance of Gettysburg, 23,000 Union in- 
fantry and 6,000 cavalry, and about 27,000 Confederate infantry and 
cavalry, ready to meet each other in the morning in deadly conflict 
to settle the fate of the Republic of the United States. 

There was but little sleep in the quaint old town that night. 
The inhabitants sat on their porches and in their rooms and dis- 
cussed with bated breath the coming struggle, while the reckless 
soldiers of the contending armies sang ribald and patriotic songs^ 
played cards and cracked jokes, enjoying themselves in any way and 
every way their fancies led, unmindful of the fearful fate that im- 
pended over them. 

Opening of the Battle. 

The sun never shone more brightly than when it cast its first 
beams across the village of Gettysburg on the morning of July i, 
which was destined to be the most auspicious day in its history. In 
the Confederate camp the night had passed without any incidents of 
special note. The pickets had been warned to be alert and vigilant 
to every move of the enemy, and those of the troops who sought 
their tents for rest lay down with the consciousness that this day was 
to be one of importance. The rank and file knew that a great battle 
was inevitable. 

I recall an incident which illustrates the spirit which animated our 
boys in gray that night. While sitting in my tent about 9 P. M., 
I received a call from a former West Point friend named W. A\'. 
McCreery, who was then acting as ordnance officer of Heth's division 
of Hill's corps. Poor fellow, he seemed to chafe at the slowness 
with which the hours dragged along. His promotion in the ord- 
nance branch of the service had been slow, and he was anxious to 



Gettysburg. 17 



demonstrate by deeds of valor that he was deserving of higher rank. 
'We talked together on various matters well along into the small 
hours, the burden of his conversation being his desire to obtain the 
colonelcy of an infantry regiment, and when he took his leave he 
shook my hand with the remark : "To-morrow I'll win a Colonel's 
commission or be buried on the soil of Pennsylvania.'^ 

Prejudiced writers who have questioned the discipline and morale 
of the army of Northern Virginia previous to the opening of the bat- 

f tie on this field, would have been disabused of such ideas had they 
been present on that bright July morning and seen the eagerness 

i- which the Confederates manifested to be up and fighting. 

Little time was lost in preparation for an attack. Gen. Lee had 

[determined at the outset to assume the offensive. The corps (A. P. 
HilFs) with which my command was moving occupied positions 
along the turnpike from Chambersburg to Gettysburg, and the 
greater portion was in the neighborhood of Cashtown, which is about 
nine miles to the northwest of Gettysburg. The other corps (Long- 
street's and Early's) were situated, the former west of the South 
Mountain, and the latter to the north of Gettysburg, and covering 
the country from Carlisle to York. On finding the village of Get- 
tysburg occupied by a strong body of Federal troops, Gen. Hill no- 
tified Gen. Lee of his purpose to make an attack in force, and, receiv- 
ing the letter's approval, accordingly moved Heth's division forward 
on the Chambersburg road, with Pender's division in easy support- 
ing distance. As Heth advanced, he threw Davis's brigade to the 
left and Archer's to the right of the road, and held Pettigrew^s and 
Brockenborough's in support. 

These movements brought the two armies, in their separate fight- 
ing positions, very near to each other. Some little time had been 
lost in getting our troops into line of battle, and it was not until 9 130 A, 
M. that the order was given to open the attack. 

Location of Gettysburg. 

To understand the situation it is necessary to know that Gettys- 
burg lies partly between Seminary Ridge on the west and Cemetery 
Ridge on the southeast, a distance of about 1,400 yards, dividing 

2 



18 Gettysburg. 



the crests of the two ridges. In front of Seminary Ridge was ;i 
strong force of Federal cavalry under the command of Gen. Buford, 
and the opening attack was centered on them l)y Gen. Heth's di- 
vision. 

I was with my command back some distance on the Chambersbiirg 
pike. Not expecting the battle to open so soon I had ordered my 
horses to be taken inside a large field of clover, taking the opportu- 
nity to allow them a chance to graze, giving orders, however, that 
they be kept in harness and under the charge of the drivers, who 
must be ready to hitch up and move forward at a moment's notice. 
A short time had elapsed when I heard the roar of musketry at the 
front. It came to me with that peculiar sound not unlike the rumble 
of a train of cars approaching at a distance, and 1 realized that the 
battle of Gettysburg had begun. 



Into The Fight, 

Calling my bugler to my side, I told him to hold himself in readi- 
ness to sound ** Boots and saddles," as I expected every moment an 
order from the front to get my batteries into position on our line of 
battle. Louder and fiercer grew the sound of musketry, and my men 
began to grow impatient to take part in the strife. Looking up the 
turnpike some considerable time after the engagement had begun I 
saw a courier dashing madly along past the bodies of troops that 
were moving forward. Coming up to where I sat on a rail fence he 
handed me an order from Gen. Hill to at once move my battalion to 
a position indicated and relieve Major Pegram's battalion of artillery 
which had been engaged since the action commenced. 

In less time than it takes to write it we were galloi)ing down the 
road to the front. It soon became evident that the Federals under 
Buford had received reinforcements, for their firing became more 
vigorous, and their movements exhibited a confidence which they 
had not heretofore shown. It was afterward learned that a large 
body of troops, under the command of ALijor-Gen. John F. Rey- 
nolds, had come to their aid, and we all realized that we were in for 
a long and stubborn struggle 



Gettysburg. 19 



The Death of Reynolds. 

In the furious fighting which ensued after the arrival of Gen. Rey- 
nolds, that gallant officer was killed while directing the operations of 
his troops in relieving the cavalry of Gen. Buford, which had been 
dismounted. Gen. Howard succeeded to the command of the field, 
but, according to Gen. Doubleday, did not issue orders to the First 
corps (Doubleday^s) until the afternoon. Soon after his assumption 
of the command it became known among the Confederates. The 
severe thrashing which they had administered to his corps (the 
Eleventh) at Chancellorsville, inspired them with the belief that they 
would be able to repeat it on this day. In the meantime severe 
fighting continued, the Federal troops being steadily pushed back 
toward Seminary Ridge. 

I think, with many officers with whom I have conversed on the sub- 
ject of this juncture of the battle, that it would have been a com- 
paratively easy matter for the Confederates to have forced the fight- 
ing and brought more troops into action and capture the key point 
of the position, which was Cemetery Hill, before sunset of that day. 

It may be asked why was Cemetery Hill considered, from the 
Confederate view, the key of the position in the first day's battle ? 
I answer, because it commanded all the approaches from the west, 
and afforded perfect cover for the movements of troops in the valley 
behind it. Had this position been taken on July i there would have 
been no more fighting at Gettysburg, and the terrible slaughter of 
the 2d and 3d would never have occurred, or, if at all, at some 
place nearer the Susquehanna River, which would necessarily have 
become the defensive line of the Union Army. But the great 
trouble with the Confederates was the absence of the cavalry, and 
Gen. Lee and Gen. Hill were not informed as to the movements ot 
Gen. Meade, who had now assumed command of the Federal troops, 
and they feared to bring on a general action lest the whole of the 
Union Army might be found concentrated in their front. This 
fear, no doubt, had much to do with the extreme caution which our 
commanders displayed throughout the day. 

After a short cessation of the battle, which lasted perhaps an 
hour, the whole of the First Corps came up, and this was soon after 



20 Gettysburg. 



followed by the Klevcnth, under Gen. Schurz. Very nearly at the 
same time the divisions of Early and Rhodes of EwelTs Confeder- 
ate corj^s arrived. Gen. Rhodes' division took position on the left 
of Gen. A. P. Hill's troops, and later in the afternoon P'arly's divi- 
sion attacked still further to the left, and a little to the north of 
the troops which had already been engaged. When these arrange- 
ments had been completed, repeated attacks were made by the Con- 
federate troops before they succeeded in driving back the opposing 
forces. 

As I was moving to the front with my command I saw Gen. I.ee 
with his staff at a point to the right of the Chambersburg turnpike, 
and just in the rear of the Seminary Ridge. He sent an officer with 
an order to me to report to him at once in person. Riding up to 
where he stood I dismounted, and, having saluted him, asked his 
pleasure. Pointing away beyond Seminary Ridge, and calling my 
attention to what seemed to be a large body of troops, with wagons 
and ambulances, he handed me a field glass, and asked if my 
guns would reach them from the Seminary. I replied that they 
would, and he said: " They seem to be moving towards the Emmitts- 
burg road, do they not ?" and added, " Place your batteries on 
Seminary Ridge and either disperse them or develop the purpose of 
their movement." 

Having complied with this order and drawn the fire of several 
batteries on Cemetery Hill upon me, I discovered that the troops 
which Gen. Lee had alluded to were in full retreat, and the General, 
coming up about that time, had the satisfaction of seeing the plain 
intervening between the two ridges filled with the retreating Federals. 
These retreating troops were, however, concentrating on that " rock- 
ribbed hill that served as a burial ground for the city." 

Gen. Lee's Discretionary Order. 

It was at this juncture that Gen. Lee sent the discretionary order 
to Gen. Ewell, on the extreme left, " to follow up the success if he 
found it ])racticable, and to occupy tlie hill on whicli the enemy was 
concentrating." It was this order, in the opinion of every officer 
who was present on that field, that prevented the complete success of 



91 

Gettysburg. ^^ 



our arms on that day ; for as it was not positive, but left discre- 
'tionary with Gen. Ewell, the latter, who had by this time reached 
with his troops the base of the Cemetery as well as Gulp s Hill, 
thought it best to give his tired columns a short rest, and to await 
further and more definite instructions. 

■ I heard during and immediately after this great campaign and 
•battle many expressions of wonder at this action, or rather inaction, 
^ of Gen Ewell, and as many times have I heard the remark. If ola 
-Stonewall had been there he would have preferred to be wuhout 
orders and pushed up the hill and captured it while the Union troops 
' were in disorder." It was at this time, when Gen. Lee was witness- 
ing the concentration of his enemy, that Gen. Longstreet, whose 
corps had not yet come into the action, states that he approached 

'iLee and said to him : 

" If we could have chosen a point to meet our plans of operation 
I do not think we could have found a better one than that upon 
which they are now concentrating. All we have to do is to throw 
our army around by their left, and we shall interpose between the 

=' Federal army and Washington. We can get a strong position and 
wait and if they fail to attack us we shall have everything in condi- 
tion'to move back to-morrow night in the direction of Washington, 
selecting beforehand a good position into which we can place our 
troops to receive battle next day. Finding our object is Washing- 
ton or that array, the Federals will be sure to attack us. When they 
attack, we shall beat them, as we proposed to do before we left 
Fredericksburg, and the probabilities are thai the fruits of our success 

will be great." , t ■ . 

"No," said Gen, Lee, "the enemy is there, and I am going to 

attack him there." 

" I suggested," continues Gen. Longstreet, " that such a move as 
I proposed would give us control of the roads leading to Washington 
and Baltimore, and reminded Gen. Lee of our original plans. If we 
had fallen behind Meade and had insisted on staying between him 
and Washington, he would have been compelled to attack, and would 
have been badly beaten. Gen. Lee answered : ' No ; they are there 
in position, and I am going to whip them or they are going to whip 
I saw he was in no frame of mind to listen to further argument 



me. 



22 Gettysburg. 



at that time, so I did not push the matter, but determined to renew 
the subject the next morning. It was then about 5 o'clock in the 
afternoon." 

These statements of (ien. Longstreet are very important in view of 
the events which followed on the next two days. 

Confederate Forces Engaged on First Day. 

It has frequently been stated in the newspapers as well as in 
magazine articles that the whole of Hill's corps and all of the 
divisions of Ewell's corps were engaged in this action. Such is not 
the case. The divisions of Heth and Pender were the only ones of 
Hill's corps that took part in the battle of the first day, and Early's 
and Rhodes' divisions of Ewell's corps came into the action late in 
the afternoon. Anderson's division of HilFs corps and Johnston's 
of Ewell's were not ehgaged. The arrival of Early's division about 
4 P. M. on the flank and rear of the Eleventh corps seemed to be the 
decisive event of the day, and the placing of a battalion of artillery 
within easy range enfiladed the entire Federal line. It was when 
the brigades of Gordon, Hays and Avery, which connected with 
Dole's brigade of Rhodes' division, advanced upon the Federal line 
commanded by Gen. Barlow, that the most bloody and obstinate 
fighting of the day ensued. The Confederates went into the attack 
with fury, indifferent to the terrible whirlwind of death that impeded 
their progress. On they rushed, over the bodies of their fallen com- 
rades, heedless of whatever fate awaited them. Their only thought 
was victory, and it inspired them with a valor that was almost super- 
human, and, as they saw the enemy slowly waver before their terrific 
onset, the famed rebel yell went up in a mighty p^ijan of triumph 
above the thunder of musketry and artillery, which seemed to make 
the very air tremble with its burden of sound. 

Gallantry on Both Sides. 

Opposed to them as I was I could not help but admire the intrepid 
gallantry which the Federal troops displayed in resisting this terrible 
onslaught that was being made upon them. Their gallant obstinacy 
was paralleled only by Xaj)oleon's legions at the Bridge of Lodi. 



Gettysp.urg. 23 



This awful struggle resulted in driving back the whole of the Elev- 
enth corps to the line which it had originally occupied, and it was 
here that Gen. Schurz, with the aid of some batteries and a brigade 
from Cemetery Hill, tried to rally it and save the town. It was a 
useless effort. Gettysburg had been doomed to fall into the Con- 
federates' hands from their opening attack in the morning, and the 
prize could not be denied them. After this well-sustained contest 
all of the Federal forces retreated, for the retreat of the Eleventh 
corps had uncovered the right of the First corps, and rendered its 
position untenable. At 4:30 or 5 P. M. the troops of Early's divis- 
ion entered the town, which it had cost him so dearly to gain. 
Gallant McCreery, who had had his ambition gratified by being 
placed in command of an infantry regiment, with many others of the 
pride and flower of the South's manhood, had perished fighting 
bravely in the mighty struggle by which this result had been at- 
tained. 

While Early's troops had been pressing the Eleventh corps, the 
divisions of Heth and Pender of Hill's corps and Rhodes' division 
of Ewell's corps had been doing like service against the First Corps 
and Buford's cavalry. Heth's division had suffered severely and had 
been replaced by Pender's. At 4 P. M. the whole Confederate line 
pressed foward in a combined attack, and Gen. Doubleday, finding 
resistance useless, ordered his troops back to Cemetery Hill. This 
movement, however, was not accomplished without great loss of men 
and material, for of those troops of the Eleventh corps who tried to 
pass through the town many were made prisoners and several pieces 
of artillery were captured on the Cashtown pike. 

At the close of the fight Ewell's corps occupied Gettysburg, and 
formed a line thence southeast to Rock Creek ; Rhodes' division 
lay on the right, occupying Middle street as far west as Seminary 
Hill ; Early lay on the southeast of the town ; and Johnston, who 
did not arrive until after dark, occupied the extreme left of our line. 
Hill's corps took position on Seminary Ridge in the following order: 
On the left and resting on the Chambersburg road was Heth, next 
came Pender and then Anderson, who had halted too long at Cash- 
town to participate in this day's battle, occupied the right of Hill's 
corps, and McLaw's division of Longstreet's corps, which also came 



Gettysburg. 



tTe left If Vet ^" Tv "'""^' "^^ ^'^^"-'^ ^"" f-her towa, 
me lett ot the Federal line of battle 

JlT^sVL'f ""' """ """"^ "^^^ '^'^<^" obtained with, 
g eat loss to ot.r brave army; for of Rhodes' division nearly , c 
had been either killed, wounded or captnred. Early altho^.^ 

r di'v-rn,^ t:^ '"" '1 '°^' °^^^ ''■' '""'-' ml fndtir. 
h avflv n hn h 7 """■ '°"^'^'^ ^''"''"^' ^"<^ had lost very 
heav.ly. I. has been frequently said, and I believe it is true tha' 
the losses were greater on this day, in proportion to the n ™be 
gaged, t an .n any battle of the war. I may say that the Tt: 
of the Confederate army felt much elated over the success of the 
first day's battle, but there were those who looked upon h S, e 
o capture Cemetery Hill that day as fatal. 1 remember a conv si 
..on w,th the gallant Gen. Ramseur, afterward killed ,n the v "y 
of V,rg,n,a, wh.ch took place near the seminarv, and w le h 
Umon batter,es on Cemetery Hill were shelling us,' n which h said 

or never! He was nght. I believed so at that moment and the 
desperate attempts to take it by assault during the nex 'two dav 
proved h,s words to be prophetic. When the retiring Federal 
reached Cemetery Hil, they were met by Gen. Hancock, who r ed 
jut a hey were com.ng up from the town, with orders from Gen 
Meade to assume the command. His presence was familiar to the 
roops and tnsp.red great conhdence; and, besides, it was h 
evidence of the approach of re-enforcements 

ferv Hiirr r°^T;'' "'^ ^'^"^^'- °f '!><= position on Ceme- 

ery H,ll as one for a defensive battle, and at once determined to 
e.a,n po,ssesss,on of it. He judged, as he afterward told me in a 

conversauon at Newport, that this would be a difficult task "orThe 

hnt l,H i, ) '^ '" "^^ ""^='' °f f^«l' troops, gave him 

ter nedraul 'T'"' ''T ''' Confederates nJake'anott 

ha., s rth':- 1..,^ Td^^j^r- -' t;:3ra%re' 

was despatched to occudv Ciiln'«; Hill ,..» • u '^ ^*^"tre, a torce 

hh riah n^A u . "I'y *-"'{' ^ '^'''' ^''i>ch was some distance to 
his r,ght, and what remained of Buford's cavalry was sent to the 



Gettysburg, 25 



extreme left. Thus there was the appearance of a great force on 
Cemetery Ridge, which may have produced the impression that the 
Union army had been greatly re-enforced. Near sunset the Twelfth 
and Third corps arrived and were placed in position, and soon after 
the Second corps came up, and thus completed the disposition of 
the Federal army for the night. * 

Stuart's Wild Ride. 

I have said that this battle was the result of an accident, and due 

to the absence of the Confederate cavalry, which should have been 

at hand to inform Gen. Lee of the movements and location of the 

Federal army. Where was it ? When Lee determined upon the 

' campaign, Gen. J. E. B. Stuart was directed to place all the cavalry 

■[ of the Army of Northern Virginia on the right flank of the army, 

and, by moving east of the Blue Ridge, to watch and follow the 

enemy across the Potomac. When Lee reached Chambersburg with 

' Longstreet's and Hill's corps, Ewell's being in advance at Carlisle 

■ and York, he had received no direct communication from Stuart, and 

■ he was ignorant of his whereabouts. Stuart, however, after leaving 
' two brigades of his cavalry to hold the gaps of the Blue Ridge, with 
' no enemy in front of them, had crossed the Potomac at Seneca 
"Creek, above Washington, and was on ''one of his wild rides," 

around the rear of the Army of the Potomac. At Rockville he cap- 
tured a wagon train, which he undertook to carry along with him. 
Reaching Hanover he found himself opposed by a strong force of 
Federal cavalry, and, as his horses and men were nearly worn out, 
he undertook to join the main army or some part of it. He accord- 

■ ingly made a night march to York, but Early had gone, and pushing 
along to Carlisle he found it occupied by a Federal force. After 
throwing some shells into the town and setting fire to the barracks 
located there, learning that the army was engaged in a battle at 
Gettysburg, he hurried as best he could with his jaded troopers to 
lend a tardy assistance to the army from which he had been so long 
absent. There was no good result from this raid — a wagon train 
and a paltry score of paroled prisoners not having compensated for 
the embarrassment which Gen. Lee had experienced. I never heard, 



2C) Gkttysi?urg. 



however, that Gen. Lee had ever reproved Stuart for this futile raid 
although it will go down in history as the cause of the failure of thi^ 
great campaign. 

The Evening of the First Day. 

What the feeling was in the Union camp that night I am unable tC' 
say, but that of the Confederates was one of exultation, for they hac 
nearly accomi)lished the end in view, and confidently rested on theii 
arms in the hope of a successful issue on the following day. The 
question in the minds of both armies, as they rested weary and torn 
from the day's strife, was, ." What will the morrow bring forth ?" 
And so the vexed question perplexed their brains until sleep lulled 
them into rest. Between the two armies the ground was strewn with 
the dead and the dying, while the pickets kept watch for the first 
signs that would renew the struggle. 

The Second Day's Battle. 

The soldiers of both armies awoke on the morning of July 2, 
feeling confident that before night the great question of supremacy 
would be settled. The Federal position from Gulp's Hill on the 
right to Round Top on the left, strong in itself, had been made 
stronger during the night by the throwing up of breastworks and the 
* arrival of the corj^s which had not been in action on the first, so that 
when Gen. Meade arrived on the field he found himself well prepared 
for the coming attack. The Confederates did not by any means un- 
derrate the force and the position with which they had to contend. 
True, the success of the first day had inspired them with great con- 
fidence, but they realized that the conditions had changed, and they 
would have to undergo a long struggle and a hard one to attain vic- 
tory. 

Condition of the Weajher. 

The morning was pleasant, the air was calm, the sun shone mildly 
through a smoky atmosphere, though giving evidences of increasing 
heat, and the whole outer world was quiet and peaceful ; there was 
nothing strikingly remarkable to foretoken the sanguinary strife that 



Gettysburg. 27 



was to close the 2d of July. During the early part of the day our 
troops kept as quiet as possible, and not a sound was to be heard 
except the firing between the pickets and an occasional shot from the 
Federal guns, for the purpose of feeling and developing our strength. 

Position of Confederate -Army. 

The positions of the corps of Gen. Lee's army at daylight were as 
follows : The two divisions of Hill's corps, those of Heth and Pen- 
der, retained the positions they had taken at sunset on the previous 
day, Pender being on the left above the seminary and Heth along 
the ridge on the right. Hill's Third Division, under Anderson, was 
posted about a mile and a half in the rear on the Cashtown Road, 
between Marsh Creek and Willoughby Run. At 4 A. M. Anderson 
was on his way to take position on the Seminary Ridge to the right 
of Heth, and he was followed by McLaw's and Hood's divisions of 
Longstreet's corps, with the exception of Law's brigade. About 
this time, Pickett, who had been left at Chambersburg, was moving 
toward the field, and Law was leaving the little village of New 
Guilford, where he had been posted to guard the rear, and Stuart 
with his cavalry left Carlisle. Ewell's corps occupied the Con- 
federate left, with Rhodes' division on the right at the foot of Cem- 
etery Hill and occupying the town of Gettysburg, while his right 
formed a junction with Hill's left on Seminary Ridge. Early was 
I in Ewell's centre, occupying a position facing the ridge which con- 
nects Gulp's Hill with Cemetery Hill, and Johnson was on the ex- 
treme left fronting Gulp's Hill. 

By II A. M. the whole of our army, with the exception of Stuart's 
cavalry and Law's brigade, were in position, entirely enveloping Get- 
tysburg. Meade's army had rectified and extended its positions 
during the morning, and his entire force was in position on the 
interior curve of the horseshoe-shaped line which extended from 
Gulp's to Cemetery Hill. The Federal line of battle, besides being 
immensely strong from its physical formation, was much shorter 
than ours, and any part of it could be leinforced, if necessity required, 
by short lines, and the movement of troops was hidden from view by 
che high ridge. 



28 Gettysburg. 



Plans of Second Day. 

Time, it seemed to us, was everything, for it enabled the Federal 
commander to perfect his arrangements to meet the attack, which 
was inevitable, yet scarcely a gun had been fired up to this time. It 
was generally understood that Gen. Longstreet should begin the'] 
fight of this day by an assault on the enemy's left, and that the 
sound of his guns was to be the signal for an attack on the Federal 
right by Ewell, and then, when success favored these assaults. Hill 
was to have moved upon the centre of Meade's line. It was the 
delay in the opening of the attack by our right that robbed this plan 
of a combined movement of the several corps of the army of Lee, of 
its success. I do not undertake here to locate the responsibility of 
this delay, but in the light of subsequent knowledge obtained from 
the reports of the Union commanders, it is, I think, fair to say that, 
with an army flushed with victory, and having all its corps in the 
positions deemed proper, the delay in attacking was grossly culpa- 
ble, it matters not upon whom rested the responsibility. Gen. Long- 
street says that on this morning he "joined Gen. Lee and again pro- 
posed the move to Meade's left and rear. He was still unwilling to 
consider the proposition, but soon left me and rode off to see Gen. 
Ewell and to examine the ground on our left with a view of making 
the attack at that point. After making the examination and talking 
to Gen. Ewell, he determined to make the attack by the right, and, 
returning to where I was, announced his intention of so doing. 

About II o'clock he ordered the march, and put it under the con- 
duct of his engineer officers, so as to be assured of their moving by 
the best route and encountering the least delay in reaching the po- 
sition designated by him for the attack of the Federal left, at the 
same time concealing the movements then under orders from view 
of the Federals." 

Miscarriage of Plans. 

From this statement it would seem that Gen. Longstreet places the 
responsibility for delay on Gen. Lee, but there has been much acri- 
monious public correspondence on this point between Gen. Long- 
street and Gen. Pendleton (Gen. Lee's Chief of Artillery), in which the 
latter places the entire onus of the delay on the former and charges 



Gettysburg. 29 



neglect of duty, and also says that Gen. Lee complained bitterly of 
the course of the commander of the First corps. The determina- 
tion of such a question, however, cannot be arrived at from the cor- 
respondence of interested parties, and must eventually be left to the 
candor of time and history. Whatever decision may be reached, 
there can be no refutation of the fact, a palpable one in itself, that 
the failure to carry out Gen. Lee's plans had a definite effect on the 
result of this day's fighting. That the plan was feasible there can 
be no doubt, and the entire army by common instinct seemed to 
realize it. 

As our army acted on the offensive, it was necessary for it to 
debouch from Seminary Ridge into the plain in full view of the 
Union commanders, and where all its principal operations could be 
observed by the signal corps at Round Top and Little Round Top, 
and to re-enforce any part of our line a long march was required, and 
much time would therefore be consumed. 

Sickles in the Peach Orchard. 

At length, at about 12 M., having perfected his plans, Gen. Long- 
street threw Hood's division forward toward the Emmittsburg road, 
with McLaw's supporting on the left, overlapped by Anderson. By 
the time this was accomplished the sun was away across the zenith, 
and an ominous silence seemed to hang over the contending armies. 
At about 3 o'clock this silence was broken by the opening of a can- 
nonade along the entire right and centre of the Confederate line, 
which was only equaled by that which followed on the next day. 
More than one hundred guns lined our front for a distance of three 
miles on the Seminary Ridge around to the Harrisburg road and on 
the hills to the east of the town. Sickles' corps of the Union army 
had been thrown in advance of the main line and occupied Sherfy's 
peach orchard. It was Longstreet's first object to seize and hold 
it as a base for an advance on the main line. Gen. Meade seemed 
also to have recognized the importance of this position, and seeing 
that Sickles could not hold it alone, hastened forward re-enforce- 
ments. In this place ensued what may be called " the pinch "' of 
that day's battle. Sickles' gallant veterans, inured to deeds of valor 
on many fields, strove nobly to resist the onset made upon them. 



30 Gettysburg. 



They fought and bled and died with that Moslem faith in their 
cause which inspires men to reck not what befalls them. The Con- 
federates fought with the fierceness of tigers at bay, and they saw 
their foe driven back as the crown of their bravery. 

Gen. Meade's re])ort shows that parts of the Second, Fifth, Sixth 
and Twelfth corps, with the whole of the Third, were unable to 
retain possession of this important salient against the impetuous 
charges of Hood and McLaws. Gen. Longstreet in his descrii)tion 
of the fight at this point says: "The attack was made in splendid 
style by both divisions, and the Federal line was broken by the first 
impact. They retired, many of them, in the direction of Round 
Top, behind boulders and fences, which gave them shelter and 
where they received re-enforcements.'^ 

The Attack on Gulp's Hill. 
The point aimed at by Gen. Lee in making this attack was to 
break through the Federal left, and flank the main body occupying 
the centre and right. To a certain extent he was successful, for hav- 
ing taken the peach orchard and carried everything before him in 
this battle wave, which had extended from Round I'op west to the 
peach orchard. Hood was preparing a movement to capture the 
stronghold of the left Round Top, and thus either compel a sur- 
render or a retreat from Cemetery and Gulp's Hill. He discovered 
that Little Round Top had not been occupied, and that a very 
meagre force had been placed in front of this hill. He regarded its 
capture as the crowning event of this day's fighting. Placing him- 
self in the front line of his most trusted .nen, and pointing to the 
rock-bound sombre summit which he yearned to possess, he led them 
with a wild impetuosity through the Union line on to the very base 
of the mountain's side. Here he was met by a perfect cyclone of 
fire from the hill which, having be«i largely re-enforced, now swarmed 
with thousands of fresh troops. All this time Gen. Vincent of the 
Union army was sorely pressed by Gen. Law's Confederate brigade, 
which had now reached the field. This contest was hand to hand 
for a time, but Law made a flank movement, and having cut Vincent 
off from the rest of the army, was on the very j^oint of gaining the 
much coveted summit, when again fresh troops under Warren and my 



Gettysburg. 31 



old classmate at West Point, O'Rorke, were pushed forward to the 
crest. Here victory was snatched from the grasp of Law by the 
impetuous valor of the troops under O'Rorke, who, having received 
a volley from the Confederates, clubbed their muskets and, with a wild 
shout of desperation, rushed upon those who. but a moment before, 
were the victors, and drove them down the hill. Another attempt 
was made by Law to force this line, but Vincent having recovered 
from his earlier embarrassment, quickly came to the rescue, and this 
second effort ended in a repulse. In this action the brave and gal- 
lant Hood was severely wounded, Vincent was killed, and O'Rorke 
also fell a victim to his courage. 

While the troops of both armies at this point were pausing for 
breath to renew the contest, important events were taking place on 
the Emmittsburg road, where Anderson's three brigades under Wilcox, 
Perry and Wright were driving the Federals from their positions, and 
soon after their whole line was irrevocably destroyed, and the forces 
which Longstreet had been so long trying to dislodge gave way in 
disorder. 

At length, when Law had reformed his line, he renewed the as- 
sault with his almost exhausted troops, and found that Weed's 
brigade and Hazlett's battery had been brought up as re-enforce- 
ments. Again the unequal contest was hotly sustained. The car- 
nage was simply awful. Another effort to turn the Federal left 
caused Law to extend his line too much, and a vigorous charge 
drove them back, leaving behind them several hundred wounded 
and prisoners. 

Thus ended the awful contest for the possession of his position of 
vantage. The last heroic effort had been made by the Confederates ; 
God's could do no more. All their gallant endeavors had cost the 
priceless treasure of a host of as brave men as ever drew a sword on 
the field of battle, and as the friendly curtain of night began to 
throw her merciful shadow over the awful scene of death, blood and 
mortal suffering, the sharp rattle of the musketry died away into a 
sound like the measured beating of muffled drums, the hoarse grum- 
bling of the destructive artillery, '* difficult music for men to face," 
faded into a mere growl, and a gentle breeze drove away the pall of 
smoke that had hid beneath it a picture of human misery sufficient 



32 Gettysburg. 



to quail the stoutest heart. The sublime horror of this awful scene 
stood forth in all its ghastly hideousness, and thank heaven there 
came a cessation liere in the work of death and carnage. Further 
effort at this point was worse than folly. While the Confederates 
had gained the peach orchard and forced tlie Union line back some 
three-quarters of a mile, and inflicted great loss upon the troops en- 
gaged, the great object had not been attained. When the next 
morning dawned it was truly a second Gibraltar, for it was covered 
with a perfect network of breastworks, and from its summit frowned 
down upon the troops in the plain below twelve thirty-pound Parrott 
guns. 

Scarcely had the tumult of battle ended on our right v/hen Ewell 
renewed it on our left. Here again some excuse was to be made for 
delay, and it was said that an adverse wind had prevented Ewell 
from hearing the sound of Longstreet's guns, and therefore did not 
attack, as had been contemplated. Hill, too, had remained inactive, 
with the exception of the brigades of Anderson's division, which 
were covering Longstreet's left. I have never heard any reason 
assigned for this. " 

Late in the afternoon, when Longstreet's exhausted divisions had 
finished their dreadful day's work, Ewell opened fire with his bat- 
teries on the Federal positions on Gulp's Hill. Having discovered 
that an attempt on the north and east sides of the hill was imprac- 
ticable, Johnston plunged his battalions into the vortex of Rock 
Creek and essayed to turn the Federal position by the southeast. 
His dispositions were completed at about 7 P. iVl., and for the first 
time on this memorable day was the battle in progress on our left. 

The Assault on Cemetery Hill. 

Previous to that hour there had been some little figliting on this 
part of the line, but it had ceased. Early attacked the Eleventh 
corps, lying on the flank of the northeastern knob of Cemetery Hill, 
and resting near a stone wall, which extended southward from 
Houck's brickyard. One portion of these divisions of Johnston and 
Early moved obliquely across the brow of a hill behind which they 
were lying, and came up in front of the wall, while another moved 



Gettysburg. 33 



up a low valley stretching from Rock Creek along the northern flank 
of Gulp's Hill. To the Louisianians, under that gallant soldier and 
true hearted gentleman, Gen. Harry Hays, was committed the per- 
ilous task of making the charge upon the guns. They dashed for- 
ward with furious determination, and, although they lost half their 
men in killed and wounded, they rushed over the wall up to the 
cannon. Here a desperate hand-to-hand fight with clubs, stones 
and missiles of all kinds ensued. The victory which the noble men 
of Louisiana had won by their valor was, I may say, thrown away by 
the failure of the support which such an assault should have re- 
ceived. Some of these men remained on the hill all night, and I had 
it from Gen. Hay's lips that the hill was deserted to a great extent 
by the Union men, and might have been held if troops had been sent 
there on the morning of the 3d. 

Ewell had directed that a similar attack should be made about the 
same time in the rear of Gulp's Hill, through a valley leading up 
from Rock Greek toward Spangler^s Spring. It is supposed that 
Gen. Ewell believed this point to have been left uncovered, to a 
great extent, by the removal of the troops to re-enforce Sickles; but 
such did not prove to be the case. Charging up the hill under cover 
of the forest and the approaching darkness, to their surprise, our 
men met a desperate resistance from a brigade of Geary's command. 
They literally covered the hillside with their wounded and dead. 
The scarred timber along the side of the hill clearly shows to this 
day the obstinacy with which the men fought to gain this vantage 
ground of our left. From 7 to 9:30 P. M. the roar of musketry was 
incessant, and it was so terrible that, as it broke upon the still night 
air, the very earth seemed to tremble with terror. 

But while our men were hurled back on this part of the line, at 
that part near Spangler's Spring, they were successful in crossing the 
works and advancing to the Baltimore turnpike. Had not this oc- 
curred at so late an hour it would have been disastrous to the Fed- 
eral army. But being fearful of falling into large masses, they pro- 
ceeded no further. During the *^.ight or at early dawn of the next 
day (July 3), Rhodes' division v as moved to the left, and Ewell had 
his entire corps massed on the right flank of the Federal army, ready 
to push the advantages which he had gained during this day. Hill's 

3 



34 Gettysburg. 



corps occupied the same position it held in the morning, and Pick- 
ett, having arrived and taken position to the left of Anderson and 
on Heth's right, made Longstreet master of the situation on our 
right. 

End of the Second Day's Battle, 

And so the day ended, fortune wavering between the two armies 
on which to cast her smiles of victory. The Confederates had been 
baffled in the purposes with which they had begun the fight in the 
afternoon, but the day had been so interspersed with small successes 
here, there, and everywhere, on the field over which they had fought, 
that they were encouraged to believe they might yet successfully woo 
the blind goddess to favor them. They were in excellent spirits when 
night brought the battle to a close, far more so than their intrepid op- 
ponents. They had demonstrated that they were foemen worthy of 
the steel of the Army of the Potomac, and in so doing inspired that 
respect for an enemy which in armies begets fear and consequent 
loss of esprit so necessary to soldiers engaged in a long battle. The 
two commanders, Lee and Meade, held councils of war during the 
night, and reached the conclusion that, while neither side had gained 
much, both had suffered heavy losses, an encouraging state of affairs 
for bloody deeds on the morrow. 

TpiE Third Day's Battle. 

The third morning found the two armies in the positions in which 
the end of the previous day had left them. In our army the thought 
uppermost was that the day would establish the Confederacy. That 
defeat avvaited our troops was a notion not entertained. 

The frowning cannon from Cemetery Hill along the Union line 
to the left stood eager-mouthed. The morning began serene and 
quiet. Daylight had just appeared when the commanders began to 
rectify and strengthen the lines of their armies, guided by the 
experience, which had been so dearly earned. During the night 
the Federal divisions which liad been called away to re-enforce other 
parts of the line were ordered back to Culp's Hill. Geary, finding 
that his former ground had been occupied, formed his returning 
troops on the right of those already in position, and at an early hour 



Gettysburg. 35 



opened the attack on the Confederates who had made a lodgment 
on Gulp's Hill and near the Baltmore pike the night before. 

The conflict lasted for several hours with varying success ; the 
charges of our men, although made with great spirit, seemed to avail 
little against the redoubled efforts of the opposing Federals. As the 
day advanced its increasing heat rendered the awful contest still more 
awful, and the hand-to-hand encounters, and constantly recur- 
ring incidents of bravery and accidents of death were equaled only 
by the number of the brave contestants. The remnant of Johnson's 
division, which had so boldly and gallantly carried the positions in 
front of our left, were now formed for one grand final effort to drive 
back and double up the Union right. The awful moment arrived; 
and at II o'clock Johnson's men, with a wild yell that rent the air, 
surged forward in their impetuous zeal. They were met by 
Geary's men and the other troops which the skillful Warren had 
brought to the defence of this position, with that cool intrepidity 
which characterizes the fighting of men in desperate straits, and 
Johnson's wearied lines were driven back with fearful loss. With a 
keen perception of the effect of this repulse, Geary moved forward, 
and in a counter charge of great enthusiasm he broke the Confeder- 
ate line, which reluctantly and sullenly yielded the ground which had 
been so dearly won. 

This was the last effort made to turn the Federal right, and, beyond 
a desultory fire at intervals to create a partial diversion in that direc- 
tion, the left of our army had played its part in this great drama of 
battles. 

General Lee's Impressions. 

There is little doubt that General Lee accepted the results of the 
first and second day's battles as successes for our army, for we had 
gained possession of ground from which we had driven the forces of 
the Union, and we had captured a large number of prisoners and 
had added a large number of field guns to our artillery corps. 

While the combats had been fierce and bloody, we had succeeded in 
driving back heavy and obstinate columns, encountering masses which 
outnumbered us at the various points of attack, yet we could not 
point to much that evidenced material victorious results. The Union 



36 Gettysburg. 



army was still there in our front, and unwhipped and as defiant as 
they were when Lee said to Longstreet on the evening of the first 
day : "They are there in position, and I am going to whip them or 
they are going to whip me." It is a fact which hardly can be denied 
that the success of the first day precipitated the battle of the second, 
and that of the second brought about the awful slaughter that made 
Pickett's charge on the third the wonder and admiration of the na- 
tions of the earth. 

Of course it was impossible for any one but the great commander 
himself to know exactly what he purposed doing, but no officer who 
gave the problem a careful thought could fail to recognize the im- 
portance of the situation and the great character of the stake for 
which we were playing, as well as the hazardous nature of the game. 
If we should succeed, Washington, Baltimore, the whole State of 
Maryland, and a large part of Pennsylvania would fall into our 
hands. We could relieve the wasted fields and exhausted resources 
of the theatre of war in Virginia and subsist our armies upon the 
rich soil of the newly captured territory. 

Political Considerations of the Struggle. 

Besides, there was the political aspect of such a victory. The 
peace party North, on account of the failure of the Federal Govern- 
ment to bring the war to a successful close, was rapidly growing into 
power, and every defeat for the Union brought fresh allies to their 
cause, and it was reasonable to conclude that a crushing defeat such 
as this day's fight might bring would turn the scale in favor of a 
declaration of peace on the terms, and the only ones that the Con- 
federates asked — namely, independence. On the other hand, what 
would another repulse entail ? A retreat across the Potomac, in the 
face of an army already exhausted by long marches and weakened 
by a three days* battle, the like of which was not recorded in his- 
tory, with naught but the knowledge of a hard-earned repulse to 
inspire new hopes and a return to the scenes of so many defeats. 

Surely the sacrifice was worth making, and Gen. Lee was right. 
He had already made the effort to beat the enemy upon his flanks ; 
nothing was now left but to hurl a fresh column against his centre, 
and, if possible, to break the line and snatch a victory from a par- 
tial defeat. This he determined to attempt. 



Gettysburg. 37 

I have in these articles quoted largely from Gen. Longstreet, be- 
cause he occupied so important a position, and because his views 
seem to be so opposed to those of Lee, and I again return to his 
comments on this day^s fight. He says : " On the night of the 2d 
I sent to our extreme right to make a little reconnoissance in that 
direction, thinking Gen. Lee might yet conclude to move around the 
Federal left." And again: "The position of the Federals was 
quite strong, and the battle of the 2d had concentrated them so that 
I considered an attack from the front more hazardous than the battle 
of the 2d had been. I was disappointed when Gen. Lee came to 
me on the morning of the 3d and directed that I should renew the 
attack against Cemetery Hill, probably the strongest point of the 
Federal line." He again urged Gen. Lee to move to the right, but 
Lee answered that he was going to take them " where they were, on 
Cemetery Hill," and added : " I want you to take Pickett^s division 
and make the attack. I will re-enforce you by two divisions of the 
Third corps." Longstreet strongly opposed this, contending that 
15,000 men were not sufficient for the purpose. The sequel proved 
that they were not ; but what had become of Anderson, McLaws 
and Hood, and did the two divisions of the Third corps give 
Pickett's men the promised support ? It is a matter of current, and 
was of, contemporaneous belief that none of these supporting divi- 
sions went boldly to the attack when Pickett was struggling with 
overwhelming numbers at the angle in Hancock's front. Is it pos- 
sible that Gen. Longstreet^s "disappointment," above referred to, 
could have had anything to do with their tardiness or lack of action ? 

The Great Artillery Duel. 
At seven minutes past i, to be precise, for I remember looking at 
my watch, we heard the ominous booming of a cannon fired by the 
Washington Artillery on the right centre of the Confederate line. 
Gen. Lee from his position heard it and knew what it meant. Con- 
fidence in his plans had imparted to his noble soul a calmness 
majestic in its grandeur. The echoes of that discharge had scarcely 
died away over the field when 150 guns on each side opened fire. 
The combined roar was deafening. It seemed to benumb every 
sense but that of fear. It was terrible. The air was filled with 



38 Gettysburg. 



deadly lines of whizzing, screaming, bursting shells and solid shot. 
Brave men inured to danger looked into each other's faces, on 
which fear was plainly depicted. The combined elements of nature 
could not produce a more fearful din. 

We had placed our guns on the hills near the Bonnaughton road, 
near the York road, near the Harrisburg road, and on Seminary 
Ridge along our whole line to a point above Round Top, the pur- 
pose being to subject the Federal artillery on Cemetery Hill to a 
circle of cross fires and to enable us to dismount and destroy it. 
Great was the object, but greater still were the results we hoped to 
accomplish before the day was over ! Every point in that day's 
drama of war had been carefully calculated upon; and we watched 
the development with the keen interest of men who know that upon 
the accomplishment of their ends depends all that is of life and 
hope to them. 

Feelings Inspired by the Contest. 

From my position on Seminary Ridge I watched the awful work. 
As I recall the scene now it required an almost stoical i)hilosophy to 
hope for anything beyond the total annihilation of all concerned in 
the terrible struggle. The commanding position occupied by the 
Federal guns on Cemetery Hill, and the elevated ground which 
gradually slopes away from it on both sides, enabled them to do the 
more effective work. The shot and shell tore ruthlessly through our 
lines, making many horrid gaps. Along Seminary Ridge was a thick 
growth of saplings, among which stood sturdy trees, and many of 
them fell before the leaden rain as if they had been assailed by a 
tornado. In one spot seventy-five of my battery horses were killed 
outright and many of my brave men went down. 

A Dreadful Alternative. 

There was no thought of flinching along our line from the galling 
fire we were receiving. To flee to the rear meant almost as certain 
death as to stand boldly to the guns. The Federal shot and shell 
flew around us and over our heads into the country back of us at 
least two miles, and to seek safety by skulking to the rear was to in- 
vite an ignominious death. I take a natural pride in saying that 



Gettysburg. 39 



our troops exhibited no timidity in facing the frightful ordeal to which 
they were being subjected. Man to man they stood shoulder to 
shoulder at the guns as if each felt himself the bulwark of the Con- 
federacy's hopes, and was determined to stand ready to beat back 
every hostile billow which confronted them. For one hour and 
thirty minutes the cannonading continued with unabated force from 
start to finish, and it gradually diminished in its intensity until it 
ceased along both lines. 

The Purpose of the Artillery Duel. 

A word as to the purpose of this great artillery duel, the greatest 
since the world began. In the morning Gen. Lee had reconnoitred 
the Federal position from the college cupola, and had come to the 
conclusion that the left centre was the weakest part in the enemy's 
lines. With that discovery he determined upon a move, the grand- 
est ever conceived by a commanding general, and, as the result 
proved, the most fatal. One formidable obstacle stood in the way 
of his hopes — the Federal artillery. By opening an attack along the 
entire line with his own guns he hoped to be able to destroy many 
of the enemy's, besides exhausting his stock of ammunition, so that 
when the crucial test of the day came — the breaking of the Federal 
line at the left centre — their heavy guns would be practically useless 
for defensive purposes. 

Pickett's Immortal Charge. 

What was to be the next move .^ was a question in the minds of 
both armies during the calm which succeeded the cannonading. 
In the morning Lee had told Longstreet to order Pickett's division, 
which belonged to his corps, to make an attack in force on the 
Federal left centre. Pickett had been apprised of the work which 
had been cut out for him to do, and, like the brave officer he was, 
held himself in readiness to perform his duty. His division, con- 
sisting of three brigades under the commands of Garnett, Kemper 
and Armistead, lay in a clump of woods almost directly opposite the 
objective point which they were to attack. The three brigades 
were made up of fifteen regiments from Virginia, all true and tried 



40 Gettysburg. 



men, who had won many laurels on the battle-fields of their native 
State. They had received premonitions of the work that was in 
store for them, and, as they lay under cover in the woods, all seemed 
as merry and careless as a pleasure party out for a holiday. Merry 
jokes, quips and songs enlivened the tedium of waiting. I have 
talked with many of the survivors of that historic charge, and their 
description of their feelings before starting across the fields to the 
attack accords with the coolness, the courage and determination 
which they displayed on that dreadful day. 

The time had come. The hour was ripe for the fruition of the 
hopes of the Confederacy. Gen. Pickett mounted his white charger, 
and, riding up to Longslreet, asked for orders. "Shall I move on 
that point, General ?" he asked, pointing to the Federal left centre at 
the angle of the stone wall directly in his front. Longstreet looked 
the hero in the face with firm, set lips and a glance of hesitation and 
doubt. He had opposed the movement, had no faith in it, and was 
reluctant to give verbal consent to it. But, veteran, trusty soldier 
that he was, he bowed to the will and desire of his commanding 
officer, and nodded his head affirmatively to Pickett's question. 

The latter seemed to become imbued with a sense of the mighty 
responsibility that had been imposed upon him. He realized, as he 
afterward told me, that a duty had been intrusted to him the 
grandest that ever fell to the lot of a commanding officer. Raising 
his hat in salute, he remarked : '* I shall go forward, sir," and then 
rode back to his command. 

Pickett was the very embodiment of a soldier born for immortal 
deeds. His bearing impressed his troops with the high sense of duty 
which animated him in all he undertook. He had a soldier's appre- 
ciation of the niceties of his profession. At the head of his com- 
mand he rode gracefully, with his jaunty cap raked well over on his 
right ear. His long auburn locks, carefully tended, hung almost to 
his shoulders in picturesque profusion. His coolness is illustrated 
by an incident which occurred shortly after he had given orders to 
his brigade commanders to prepare for the charge. He was sitting 
on his horse, when Gen. AVilcox rode up to him and, taking a flask 
of whisky from his pocket, said : " Pickett, take a drink with me. 
In an hour you will be in hell or glory !" 



Gettysburg. 41 



" Be it so, Gen. Wilcox/' returned Pickett, taking the proferred 
drink ; ''whatever my fate, I shall do my duty like a brave man." 



Into the Bloody Angle. 

The line being formed, the gallant men on whom were centred a 
people's hope of a nation, moved out of the woods, 

Firm paced and slow, a horrid front they form, 
Still as the breeze, but dreadful as the storm. 

Nothing interrupted the view of this superb movement. From 
the cannon-covered top of Cemetery Hill, along the Federal line, 
the soldiers of the Federal army watched with wonderment, not un- 
mixed with admiration, the oncoming of those heroic columns, while 
the Confederates looked on admiringly, hoping against hope that 
success would reward the splendid courage evinced by Pickett's men. 
When a short distance from their starting point they obliqued to the 
right and then to the left, in order to secure cover in the undulations 
of the plain across which they were moving. By some strange 
fatality the artillery smoke which had settled over the field after the 
cannonading and hung there close to the ground, lifted after the 
Confederate division had got some distance in its journey to death 
and glory, and revealed distinctly to both armies the movement then 
being made. Marching in the direction of the objective position 
with measured steps and unfaltering courage, Pickett's division drew 
nearer and nearer to their goal without hindrance from the foe. 

What did it mean ? Was their attack to be a bloodless victory? 
These were questions that sprung instinctively to the minds of the 
gallant men. Oh, no ; for suddenly a cloud burst of flame, shot and 
shell came thundering from the ridge into the devoted ranks. There 
was no wavering, no halting ; on went Pickett's men, presenting as 
solid and as undaunted front as the rock of Gibraltar. Many dead 
and wounded were left by their brave comrades on the spot where 
the^ fell. There was no time for anything but duty, and that stern 
duty was ahead of them. Again and again the Federal batteries 
poured fourth a rain of solid shot, shell, shrapnel and cannister upon 



42 Gettysburg. 



them in unstinted measure. Horrid rents, which were quickly 
closed up, were made in their lines as the men pressed steadily 
forward, a thunder-cloud of war that would not be stayed. 
The Federals, seeing that they were dealing with a desperate foe, 
increased their fire, if possible, with no apparent effect except 
to mark the track over which the force was moving with the dead 
and wounded heroes. 

Never was there a sublimer exhibition of bravery on the battle- 
field. Courage was personified in every man. On they went in 
the face of the relentless hail of death that was beating against 
them. Gen. Armistead was seen with his hat held aloft on his sword 
to serve as a guide, marching resolutely at the head of his gallant 
men. Shot and shell whistled about him, yet he was undaunted. 
His journey was a desperate one, but he continued bravely on his 
way, not with the courage of desperation, but with the courage of a 
perfect man and a gallant soldier. 

" Don't flinch an inch, boys," he said to his men just before start- 
ing away, and they were heroically responding. 

The carnage in their ranks was fearful to contemplate. It seemed 
more like cold-blooded butchery than systematic war. That part of 
our army not engaged watched the gallant band in painful suspense. 
It did not seem within the limit of human endeavor that they could 
ever reach the objective point, so terrible was the slaughter to which 
they were being subjected. On they went, with every step becoming 
more determined. Surely there was never seen such matchless hero- 
ism. Nothing could stay or check them. When within a short 
distance of the Federal line their wild yells of defiance were heard 
above the thundering of the guns. The greatest moment of their lives 
had come. They dashed forward in a wild and disordered rush. Gar- 
nett, whose brigade was in advance, fell dead within a hundred yards 
of the Union front, sword in hand. His men rushed madly 
upon the Sixty-ninth and Seventy-first Pennsylvania Regiments 
who i.ad been awaiting the oncoming attack. At this moment 
they were brought under the fire of Stannard's brigade which was 
occupying a small wood in advance and to the left of the point of 
Pickett's attack. 



Gettysburg. 43 



Hancock to the Rescue. 

Hancock realizing the purpose of the attack, and always on the 
alert to seize a favorable opportunity, threw a force on Pickett's 
flank. Two of Armistead's regiments were frightfully decimated 
and thrown into a disorganized state by this movement. The 
remainder of his brigade dropped in the rear of the centre of Pickett's 
lines. Armistead, swinging his sword wildly, and rushing from point 
to point, urged his men forward, and reached the front rank between 
Kemper and Garnett. 



Hand to Hand for Victory. 

In the impetuous rush which ensued these brigades became a 
compact struggling mass of human beings all bent on bloody 
work. Pushing forward, as if moved by some irresistible force 
superior to the individual will, they threw themselves upon the Union 
line like so many thunderbolts. The shock was terrific ; it seemed 
impossible for human power to withstand it, and for a moment it 
seemed that it must sweep everything before it. With what breath- 
less interest we watched the struggle ! Gen. Lee, from a convenient 
point, stood calmly looking at the struggle. Not an expression of 
the face or an action indicated that he had other than hopes of suc- 
cess. He was as imperturbable as a rock. What emotions swayed 
his soul at that supreme moment he and God alone only knew. 

The first line of the Federals was pierced, and they were driven 
back upon the earthworks near the artillery. There the work of 
death was renewed with frightful slaughter. Charges of grapeshot 
were fired into Pickett's men with terrible effect. Hancock and 
Gibbon rushed up their reserves to help stay the furious onslaught 
of the Virginians. Hall rectified his line, which had been out- 
flanked on the right. Harrow advanced with his left, and almost 
took Pickett in reverse. All these movements, made under the 
greatest excitement, threw the Federal troops into the same disor- 
dered state as their opponents, and both became mixed in a con- 
fused mass, the only way of distinguishing one from the other being 
the blue and gray uniforms. 



44 Gettysburg. 



The fighting became like that of an infuriated mob. Confeder- 
ates and Federals faced each other with clubbed muskets, their 
faces distorted with the fury of madmen. Commands were useless; 
they could not be heard above the din. A clump of trees just 
within the angle wall became the objective point of the Confeder- 
ates. Armistead resolved to take it. Placing his hat on his sword, 
he rallied about him 150 men who were ready to follow wherever he 
would lead. Rushing forward with his gallant band, he reached a 
Federal gun, and just as he had adjured his followers to j' give them 
the cold steel, boys," fell dead in his tracks, pierced with bullets. 
The death of this gallant officer marked the complete failure of the 
Confederate assault, and beaten, but undismayed, Pickett's men re- 
traced their way across the field, now strewn with their dead. Rid- 
ing up to Gen. Lee, Pickett dismounted, and, saluting, said in a 
voice tremulous with sorrow : 

Pickett's Sorrow and Lee's Magnanimity. 

** General, my noble division has been swept away." 

** I alone am responsible, Gen. Pickett," Lee replied, with that 
quiet dignity which always characterized him. 

It was expected that Gen. Meade, after this signal repulse, would 
place himself at the head of his victorious soldiers and lead a 
counter-charge; but, with the exception of the advance of a few 
skirmishers, there was no movement of the Federal line. In antici- 
pation of such an attack our lines were reformed along the Seminary 
Ridge, and everything put in readiness for defense. We watched 
with intense anxiety every movement of the troops in our front, and 
felt anything but secure. 

At night Gen. Lee withdrew that portion of Ewell's corps which 
had occupied the town, and our men were ordered to strengthen the 
Seminary Ridge by throwing up a line of rifle pits. The wounded 
that could be transported were placed in ambulances and wagons, 
and, under the escort of Gen. Imboden's brigade of cavalry, were 
started back by way of Chambersburg toward the Potomac. Many 
wounded were necessarily left behind and at farm houses along the 
route, and yet the train that bore them away, with its accompanying 



Gettysburg. 45 

baggage train and artillery and cavalry to guard it, covered a dis- 
tance of seventeen miles. Although the Federal cavalry was sent on 
the 4th in pursuit of this train, it did not reach it until it was in 
comparative safety at Williamsport. Here a desperate effort was 
made to capture not only this but the ammunition train, which, by 
forced marches from Winchester, had reached this point on its way 
to join the army. Stuart's cavalry, however, arrived in time to pre- 
vent this rich train from falling into the Federal hands. 

In the Face of Defeat. 

In the meantime Gen. Lee remained in position with his entire 
army on Seminary Ridge throughout the 4th, and while we knew 
that it was a national holiday, the sound of no national airs floated 
across the plain of death that separated the two armies, and the firing 
of salutes was only heard in the reverberations that still lingered in 
the mountains and valleys from the great cannonade of the day 
before. The rain fell throughout the day in cold, chilling sheets 
that added still more to the feeling of depression that pervaded the 
army. 

The gloomy day was drawing to a close when Gen. A. P. Hill 
stopped to warm himself by my bivouac fire. I saw plainly that his 
spirit was gone, and that he made no effort to hide the fact. 
Presently, without a word of comment upon the result, he turned 
sorrowfully toward me and said : 

"Colonel, we must return to Virginia and prepare to try it 
again. ^' 

The Confederate Retreat. 

When darkness had fully set in, the troops were quietly put on 
the march on the direct road through the mountain passes toward 
Hagerstown and the Potomac. Lee concentrated his army in the 
vicinity of Hagerstown, but as his pontoon train had been de- 
stroyed, and as the heavy rains of the past few days had swollen 
the Potomac so as to render it too deep to be forded, he was unable 
to cross. Selecting a strong position, with his right resting on the 
river near Falling Waters, and his left extended beyond Hagers- 
town, and resting on a creek to the west of that town, he proceeded 



46 Ge:ttysburg, 



to fortify and await the subsiding of the river, or the construction of 
a pontoon bridge. He was not further molested by Meade's army, 
but remained in this position until July 14th, when he returned to 
the Virginia side of the Potomac. Thus ended the great campaign 
of Gettysburg. 

Strength of the Armies and Their Losses. 

The army of Northern Virginia on May 31, 1863, contained an 
effective force of 88,754 officers and men, of whom the following 
were under arms : General staff and infantry, 59,420 men ; cavalry, 
10,292 ; artillery, 4,756 ; a total of 74,468 men, with 206 pieces of 
artillery. This army arrived on the field of Gettysburg, 5,000 more 
being added from different sources, with 80,000 men. Deducting 
the mounted men from this, Lee carried into action in the three 
days* fight about 68,000 men and about 200 guns. 

Against this the army of the Potomac bore on its returns, July i, 
1863, 7,000 artillery, 10,500 cavalry, 85,500 infantry and 352 pieces 
of artillery. 

The Federal army, therefore, outnumbered the Confederate by 
35,000 men and 146 guns. 

These figures are taken from the account of the battle by the 
Comte de Paris, and are considered the most reliable estimate pub- 
lished. Gen. Longstreet, who is the best possible authority on the 
subject, since the reports came directly to him, states that Pickett's 
division made its memorable charge 4,900 strong. I should judge 
from the depleted condition of our infantry regiments about this 
time that this statement is absolutely correct, as there were only 
fifteen regiments in the three brigades, and ^;^^ men to a regiment 
would be fully as many as they contained. 

The losses in this great battle are put by Gen. Doubleday of the 
United States army, as follows : 

Union loss — 3,072 killed, 14,497 wounded, 5,434 missing ; total 
23,003. 

Confederate loss — 2,592 killed, 12,709 wounded, 5,150 missing; 
total, 20,451. 

JOHN J. GARNETT, 
Colonel of Artillery, C. S. A. 



Gettysburg. • 47 



GENERAL STAFF 

ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA 



General ROBERT E. LEE Commanding. 

STAFF. 
Colonel W. H. TAYLOR, Adjutant-General. 

C. S. VENABLE, A.B.^ 

CHARLES MARSHALL, A.D.C. 

JAMES L. CORLEY, Chief Quartermaster. 

R. G. COLE, Chief Commissary. 

B. G. BALDWIN, Chief of Ordnance. 

H. L. PEYTON, Assistant Inspector-General. 
General W. N. PENDLETON, Chief of Artillery. 
Doctor L. GUILD, Medical Director. 
Colonel W. PROCTOR SMITH, Chief Engineeer. 
Major H. E. YOUNG, Assistant Adjutant-General. 
" G. B. COOK, Assistant Inspector-General. 



FIRST CORPS. 

Lieutenant-General JAMES LONGSTREET Commanding 



SECOND CORPS. 

Lieutenant-General R. S. EWELL Commanding. 



THIRD CORPS. 

Lieutenant-General A. P. HILL Commanding. 



CAVALRY CORPS. 
Lieutenant-General J. E. B. STUART Commanding. $ 



\ 



48 ^ Gettysburg. 



GENERAL STAFF 

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC 



Ma.ior-General GEORGE GORDON MEADE Commanding. 

STAFF. 

Major-General DANIEL BUTTERFIELD, Chief of Staff. 

Brigadier-General M. R. PATRICK, Provost Marshal-General. 

SETH WILLIAMS, Adjutant-General. 

EDMUND SCHRIVER, Inspector-General. 

RUFUS INGALLS, Quartermaster-General. 

Colonel HENRY F. CLARKE, Chief Commissary of Subsistence. 

Major JONATHAN LETTERMAN, Surgeon, Chief of Medical 

Department. 
Brigadier-General G. K. WARREN, Chief Engineer. 
Major D. W. FLAGLER, Chief Ordnance Officer. 
Major-General ALFRED PLEASONTON, Chief of Cavalry. 
Brigadier-General HENRY J. HUNT, Chief of Artillery. 
Captain L. B. NORTON, Chief Signal Officer. 
Major-General JOHN F. REYNOLDS,* Commanding the First, 

Third and Eleventh Corps on July ist. 
Major-General HENRY W. SLOCUM, Commanding the Right 

Wing on July 2d and July 3d. 
Major-Gkneral W. S. HANCOCK, Commanding the Left Centre 

on July 2d and July 3d. 



* He was killed on the first day, and succeeded by Major- General O. O. 
Howard. 



